 
Assembly Resolution No. 168
 
BY: M. of A. Seawright
 
        CALLING  for  ratification  of  the  Equal  Rights
        Amendment
 
  WHEREAS, The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly  guarantee  equal
rights to all persons regardless of sex; and
 
  WHEREAS,  The  19th  Amendment, adopted in 1920, grants all citizens
the right to vote without abridgment or denial on account of sex; and
 
  WHEREAS,  The  proposed  Equal  Rights  Amendment   (ERA)   to   the
Constitution affirms that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be
denied  or  abridged  by the United States or by any state on account of
sex"; and
 
  WHEREAS, The ERA was written by suffragist  leader  Alice  Paul  and
introduced  in  Congress  in 1923, was passed by Congress in 1972 with a
seven-year time limit, and after Congressional  extension  of  the  time
limit  to  June  30,  1982,  has  been  ratified  by 35 of the 38 states
necessary to put it into the Constitution; and
 
  WHEREAS, Article V of the Constitution imposes  no  time  limit  for
ratification  of amendments; Supreme Court decisions have recognized the
power of Congress to determine the mode of ratification;  and  the  1992
ratification  of  the  27th ("Madison") Amendment 203 years after it was
first proposed supports the premise that state  ERA  ratification  votes
since 1972 are sufficiently contemporaneous; and
 
  WHEREAS,  On  Monday,  March  20, 2017, the State of Nevada voted to
ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, leaving only two more  states  needed
for ratification; and
 
  WHEREAS,  Two  processes  are being proposed for ratification of the
ERA:  (1) the traditional Article V passage by two-thirds votes  in  the
Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives followed by ratification by
three-quarters of the states, and  (2)  the  "three-state  strategy"  of
overriding  or  removing  the  time  limit via judicial and/or statutory
action and declaring the ERA to be part of the Constitution  when  three
more states ratify; and
 
  WHEREAS, A leader in advocating for women's equality, New York State
has  championed  paid family leave, equal pay for equal work, and issues
that face pregnant women in the workforce; now, therefore, be it
 
  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
call  on  all members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in
the 115th Congress to co-sponsor,  support,  and  pass  into  law  joint
resolutions  for  both  the  traditional  Article V ratification process
(S.J. Res. 16, H.J. Res. 33)  and  the  "three-state  strategy"  process
(S.J. Res. 5, H.J. Res. 53); and be it further
 
  RESOLVED,  That  this  Legislative  Body pause further to affirm our
strong support of the Equal Rights Amendment and our commitment  to  put
the ERA into the Constitution; and be it further
 
 
  RESOLVED,  That  copies  of  this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the President of the Senate of  the  United  States,  the
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and to each member of the
Congress of the United States from the State of New York.
Calling for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment

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